Usually a cantilevered playseat includes a base which rests on the floor and a seat which is supported above the base by parallel inclined arms at each side of the base which are pivoted to the base and to the seat. The arms are spring biased so as to tend to maintain the seat in a generally horizontal orientation above the base. However, when a child exerts weight on the seat or bounces up and down in the seat, the arms pivot relative to the base and the seat in such a way as to permit the seat to swing up and down relative to the base while maintaining its horizontal orientation. Usually provision is also made for releasing the spring so that the arms and the seat can fold down against the base with the folded playseat forming a relatively compact package for efficient storage.
Conventional playseats of the cantilevered type have various drawbacks which militate against their wider use. Some are composed of a relatively large number of parts and linkages. Others have pinch points which could cause injury to a child playing in the seat. In some cantilevered bouncers and walkers the folding mechanism can be released accidentally by a child sitting in the playseat causing collapse of the seat which could cause injury to the child. Finally, most foldable cantilevered seats resiliently bias the seat above the base by extensible coil springs. If the springs should break or their connections to the playseat frame should part, the seat supporting the child collapses to the floor, again with possible injurious consequences. Examples of such prior playseats of this general type are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,927,628, 2,976,911, 3,007,667, 3,054,591, 3,061,261, 3,076,628, and 3,096,963.